The Comics I Read Every Month

Few people in the world likely wake up every Wednesday morning as excited as I am. Why am I so giddy? Wednesday is what I call "Comic Book Day." All new comic books hit store shelves on this day. I'm usually standing outside my comic book shop's doors minutes before they open to ensure I don't miss out on any new releases.

I've been doing this every week since my parents gave me my first car on my sixteenth birthday. My comic book obsession started three years prior to this, when my father introduced me to Shinders, a Minnesota retailer of comic books, sports cards, and magazines that is still around, but isn't the wonderful place it used to be. We'd spend a good hour in the store looking for baseball cards and comic books. My dad recommended I start with fun books like Disney's Uncle Scrooge and any one of the Archie books. I even read a series based on those strange Madballs toys. I enjoyed all of these books thoroughly until I convinced him I should try out Batman. That was the day my world changed. My first issue was Detective Comics #619, the second part of a story called Rite of Passage. I remember being confused by the story, but fascinated with the Bat. After reading it, I begged my father to take me back to Shinders to get more. We went back that day, and I dove into the back issue section to snag the five issues before #619.

From that day on I was hooked. I went back and read every Detective Comics book from #400 on, and also added Batman to my monthly reading list. I've read every Batman issue from #300 on. To this date, I haven't missed an issue of either series.

My love of Batman eventually gave way to a greater appreciation of DC's universe. Some of my exploration was inspired by cameo appearances in the Bat books. My dad also pushed me to give Superman and Flash a try. I enjoyed both of them. I went from reading two DC books a month to six. It didn't take long for me to dive into the Marvel universe, and then into Dark Horse, Image, Malibu, Vertigo, Valiant, and you name it. I now read 26 different series a month, much to the pain of my wallet.

Outside of these series, I'll take a chance on different Image and Darkhorse titles. I periodically read Transformers and Star Wars, and usually give any title by Mark Millar a shot. Jupiter's Legacy has been amazing.

Now it's your turn. What comics do you read each month? Also, what was the first book that blew your mind?